Instead of nursing facilities, a New York Times article goes after assisted living.
As many of you are aware by now, there was a not too complimentary op-ed article last Sunday in the New York Times called “How Not to Grow Old in America.” The bottom line, according to the author, is that assisted living is not the answer for our elderly.
One can argue about some statements and characterizations in the article, as ASHA did in a response to the paper, but at least one central theme is something I have been saying for a while. And that is, we are putting too much money into the physical plant and not enough into staffing and training. It’s kind of like golf, where you drive for show and putt for dough. In senior living, it’s lights out amenities to get them in, but reputations are based on care and quality. If you don’t excel at the latter, in the long run the amenities won’t matter so much.
With the current tight labor market, and the push for a higher minimum wage rate, this is the biggest vulnerability the industry faces. It is also the most important factor impacting returns, for operators, investors and REITs. The problem is, I just don’t see an end to it coming any time soon.
Yes, a major economic downturn would free up some labor, but as acuity levels rise, the number of workers is just one piece of the puzzle. We need far better and more consistent training, and better industry PR to get higher quality line staff in our communities. Tell me what you think at next week’s NIC Conference.
#doyoukare
Very timely piece. The labor solution is coming. Launching in October. Would love to talk with you next week at NIC.
Thanks, would love to talk next week. I have open times but am wide open Friday afternoon.
This piece in the NYT was a hatchet-job, and was a conscience-clearing exercise by the author. Unfortunately, it (the piece) displays the muddled thinking about end of life are, family / cultural guilt and what the real options are. The very conclusion of the piece was the most revealing, to wit, the US does NOT have a culturally consistent attitude toward decline and death. If we could see the end more clearly, the steps along the pathway could include all appropriate decisions – including congregate care.
As an “op-ed” the piece avoids all manner of professional scrutiny, from fact checking to basic editing. The Times goes “tabloid” more and more often with provocative pieces that scholarly journals or even trade “magazines” probably wouldn’t touch. At least, the electronic piece links over to the professional writers covering geriatrics where the standards are higher and it takes more than a felt tipped marker to change reality.
Thanks Irving and yes, as a society we do not talk enough about decline and death. I was fortunate to grow up in a family that was very open about death, with my mother perhaps talking about it too much! But she was a member of the Hemlock Society for many years.
While I hear you John, it was an opinion piece and those were her opinions, founded on fact or not. But the NYT does like to publish articles that are critical of anything dealing with long-term care.